Valentino Rossi held his own press conference in his hospitality to answer various questions from journalists.
As usual, in order to avoid any sometimes abusive journalistic interpretation, we offer you here a “raw” translation of all of his words.
Valentino Rossi: “I am rather satisfied with this first day. It was difficult, especially this morning, because Michelin brought different tires after the test and we improved and are better than in the test but, unfortunately the conditions have changed a lot because this morning we were more than 30° colder. than during the test. So this morning it was very difficult but we were finally able to use the Soft and also the Hard. In the afternoon the conditions improved a little, not much, but normal enough to attack more. I'm quite satisfied because I have a good pace, I'm quite fast and I finished 4th.
Vinales narrowly beat me and took first position behind the two factory Ducatis, but the time is not bad and now we have to work and we have to improve.
I think it will be very difficult with the two factory Ducatis, because they are very fast, and at the same time I think Lorenzo and Marquez will be competitive because they continued with the hard tire, without putting the soft at the end. Vinales is also fast, but I'm quite satisfied because my bike is not bad and I can have a good pace.
We are therefore hoping for better conditions for tomorrow, and in particular dry conditions for Sunday. We hope. »
Do you think you can keep up with the Ducatis and are you worried about gas mileage?
“It’s very difficult to know. We just have to give the maximum and try to adjust all the little details to be a little bit faster on the straights but, you know, it's very difficult to be faster on the straights. You can get out of the corners faster, but on the straights, the level is there. But you never know; it's Friday but Saturday and especially in the race, it's always very different if you are able to follow the wake of the Ducati. During the tests I followed Dovizioso and for me it is difficult, but you never know, also because, as you said, everyone is worried about the fuel consumption. I also hope that the Ducati will have to use a little less power as well. I don't know, we have to wait, but whatever happens, we have to give our best and try to improve tomorrow.
Qualifying will obviously be important, as will starting at the front, and then we'll see. We hope it will be dry on Sunday. »
What do you think of the change to turn 10 and your opinion on turn 4…
“For me, the modification is ok. It doesn't make a big difference but it's a little safer so that's a good point.
For turn 4, I am personally more worried about the right turn after the two lefts. When braking for turn 4, there is not much room but in my opinion we have other corners like this in the season. But I like the exit from the last corner. »
How are the new Michelin tires different?
“Generally speaking, the tires are harder than during the test. During this one, it was good and there was very good grip, but after 3 or 4 laps, it was moving. The Ducati are also better because during the test the bikes moved a lot at high speed whereas with this stiffer construction they are more stable.
But at the same time, today, with these temperatures, we had a lot of degradation. During certain laps, you lose a lot because the tire slips. I think it will be very important for the race because 28 laps is very long. »
The Ducatis are going so fast that some riders are taking risks to try to keep up with them. What do you think of this and do you consider that you should focus on Marquez and Lorenzo?
“The Ducati have a lot of power but also, when they can do it and compared to the Yamaha and Honda, less wheelie. That's why they're very quick to accelerate, because it seems like motorcycles accelerate more, without a front wheelie, so for that reason it's very difficult.
Regarding the second question, it's very early to say. For me, Marquez and Lorenzo are of course more important than the Ducati, but I'm not going to go just for third place. It's too early. We also have to try to stay with them because 28 laps is a very long time. We must try. »
Sorry for going off-topic, but can you give us a forecast for Silverstone?
“Silverstone is a very difficult circuit but I made a good step forward there last year. I won the race in the wet but I was also pretty fast in the dry. I started from fourth place but I felt good on the bike so we just have to wait and I'm optimistic. And I also think we need to understand how the Hard/Hard Michelins work at Silverstone, better or worse than the Bridgestones, and as always at Silverstone, we need to wait for the weather. But honestly, I love Silverstone. »
